Just knock
by CelticGuardian117
Summary: Set after season six, the team are forced to deal with a new threat with the ability to brainwash and control the blue paladin. Keith confronts a vision from the future and learns to be a better leader, and Lance learns his place in the team. Very fluffy Klance.


**Author's note: Hi guys! I was way to lazy to split this up into proper chapters because it was supposed to be a one-shot originally! However, I have put in line breaks, so whenever that happens it'll be because there's a change in scene or as indication that there's an advertisement break like in cartoons and the scene fades away whenever something dramatic happens. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Keith, I had that guy!" Lance whined,

"Well, you should have been faster." Keith smirked as Lance groaned through his headset.

"Okay, we only have a few doboshes to shut these guys down before they call for backup," Pidge's voice came in,

"Alright, Lance and I will head to the main engine and do some damage. Do you think you'll have enough time to hack in?"

"Their systems are pretty weak, these don't seem to be the same as they usually have on Galra bases, so we should have the intel in no time."

"Okay, we'll see you in ten doboshes."

"Copy that."

"Do you think these guys even have backup?" Lance dropped down next to Keith, "They seem pretty disorganized."

"We don't want to count on that," they rounded a corner, "but I see your point."

"You see my point?" Lance laughed, "Never thought I'd see the day."

"What are you talking about?"

"We never agree on anything."

"We agree on _some_ things."

"Keith, we're literally disagreeing about dis-"

"Wait, shut up." They paused behind a corner, "Engine room."

They looked at each other, and came to the usual conclusion. Keith would go in first, slash a few guys, and Lance would stay back and snipe the poor distracted fools who were still alive. A fool proof and, somewhat, efficient plan that never seemed to go wrong, except on the few occasions that it did. Unfortunately, this was one of those times.

Everything seemed to be going as it usually did. That is, until the two paladins were flanked and severely outnumbered.

"Hands up, _Voltron paladins_."

"I though we cleared the entire ship?" Lance screeched, trying desperately to take down the incoming Galra, "They couldn't have called for backup?"

"I don't know," Keith stabbed a Galra, "Pidge, we're gonna need you to pick us up, what's the situation on the intel?"

"Almost got it, just a few more doboshes."

"We can handle a few more doboshes," Lance said, not sounding completely sure of himself. They shared an uneasy glance,

"There is one thing we could do," Keith muttered, just loud enough for Lance to hear, "We are in the middle of an engine room."

"No way, Keith, we'll _die._ "

"Not if we get out in time."

"How do you think we're gonna do that?"

"Clear a path." Lance looked at Keith like he had lost his mind.

"We're actually going to do this, aren't we?"

"Yup."

"If we make it out of this alive, I'll-"

"You'll kill me?"

Lance smiled,

"You got it, partner." They looked at each other, just for a split second. This was it. And then Lance shot the engine.

* * *

The engine sparked dramatically, and then the ship's sirens started blaring. The galra looked at each other. Evidently disorganised and leaderless, they didn't seem to have instructions for this particular situation, and did the best thing that came to mind which was to run as far away from the posing threat. The engine room burst into flames immediately, and Keith and Lance followed suit, surprised at the how little combat was actually required for this Keith-hatched plan. The ship was failing, shuddering horribly, and red lights had started flashing through the hallways.

"We shouldn't have done this." Lance called out as they looked for the nearest exit. Plans always went horribly wrong with Keith, mainly because plans hardly ever worked, but also because Keith was way to results orientated to back out when a plan wasn't going to work.

"Too late," Keith replied calmly, checking around corner.

"Alright," Pidge's voice cut in, "got the intel, you guys can head out now."

"Pidge, can you come pick us up? Ship's gonna blow in less than a dobosh."

"I'm taking some heavy fire, but I can meet you guys out there." They turned a corner into a hangar bay where escape pods were launching.

"Or we could just take an escape pod…" Lance looked at Keith,

"We don't have time. These look too different to the ones they usually have. We don't know if they'll work for us." They _did_ look different, almost as if they weren't part of the Galra empire at all. Lance nodded in agreement,

"Okay, let's get out of here."

"See," Keith's attention turned to an incoming Galra which he stabbed through the chest, "we do agree on things." He could hear Lance let out a puff of air, the smallest laugh. Keith grinned.

They cleared a path to the massive door, which opened ever so slowly. It really did a lot to Lance's nerves. As soon as the door was open enough for them, they jumped out into the abyss, hoping for any sort of rescue from Pidge. They used their jetpacks to create some distance from the ship. Lance turned around to shoot at the remaining Galra still attacking.

And then the ship exploded.

* * *

The force sent them moving faster from the ship than their jetpacks could have ever done. Lance started screaming, and at first Keith thought he was beginning dramatic as usual. Then, he saw Lance's face. The flying debris must have hit Lance, cracking his helmet.

"Keith? Keith?"

"Lance!" Keith tried to grab at him, but they were spinning too fast. "Pidge, you need to come and pick us up, _now."_ His voice was shaking, just a little. He tried to breathe.

"Keith? Are you guys alright? I'm under attack, I'll be there in a tick."

"Keith? Wha-" Keith collided into Lance, and Keith took the chance to take hold and steady the two of them. It was worse than he originally thought. Lance's helmet had been shattered. He was losing oxygen. Keith put his hand over the crack in attempt to block the leak,

"Lance, stop talking. You're losing oxygen." Lance nodded, he looked terrified. They were so close, their helmets bumping. His forehead was bleeding, and Keith must have looked worried because Lance put on the dumbest smile,

"It's gonna be fine."

"Yeah." Keith gulped. "But shut up." Lance snorted.

It was _not_ going to be fine, as it turned out, because they were soon surrounded by galra escape pods and… _backup._

"Incoming." Keith narrowed his eyes, "Why aren't they shooting at us?"

"They want to capture us, two Voltron paladins and all." Lance said weakly. Keith gave him a look and he smiled sheepishly, "I'll shut up."

"Pidge, where are you?"

"Coming!" Keith could see the green lion approaching from a distance.

"We need to get closer to Pidge. Can you use your jetpack?" Keith asked. Lance shook his head. They flew much slower than usual, which was expected with two bodies and one jetpack. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough to outrun the galra ship currently in pursuit of them.

"Just leave me behind," Lance said, "I'm slowing you down."

"What are you talking about?" Keith snapped,

"We don't need two red paladins," Lance sighed, a little bitterly, "and these guys won't kill me, at least for now."

"No. I'm not going to leave you."

"You don't have a choice." And Lance kicked Keith into the direction of the green lion.

* * *

"What happened?" Hunk looked between Keith and Pidge,

"Lance sacrificed himself to save the mission-"

"Lance is _dead?!_ "

"Hunk, no. He's just been captured." Pidge explained, "I don't really understand-"

"We need to get him back!" Hunk howled,

"I know." Keith said. Hunk softened a little,

"So what do we do?"

"We have to go after them," Keith insisted, "the longer we take, the further they're gonna get away."

"Well, I suggest we look through the intel we just gathered," Pidge adjusted her glasses, "we can see how these guys work and pinpoint the location of where they're going to be."

"Good work, Pidge." Shiro said, "In the meantime, Keith, can we talk?"

Keith nodded. They walked a little way away from the group before either of them said anything.

"So." Shiro started, "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"The plan didn't work. We got flanked, and I had to pick the next best option."

"Well, it sounds like you actually did the right thing," Shiro blinked, "so why are you acting weird?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You look angry at yourself. This isn't your fault, you know."

"How is this not my fault? I lost one of my team! That's the first thing you're not supposed to do. That's being a leader 101!" Keith crossed his arms. Shiro gave him a weird look,

"Keith. Is this really about that?" Keith scowled, but Shiro continued, "It just seems like you're not thinking straight?"

"You mean, less than normal?" Shiro smiled,

"Yeah."

"Let's just go. We're wasting time."

* * *

"It looks like the guys we're dealing aren't exactly part of the galra empire. All their tech, their ships, they all seem subpar."

"What does that mean? They're not with Zarkon and stuff?" Hunk sat down next to her,

"No, they are. But just, not officially." Pidge looked back at her computer, "Let me explain. When Zarkon died. I assume not everyone was happy with Lotor taking over and partnering with Voltron, so I guess some Galra started their own rebel organization."

"So, we're dealing with rebels? They did seem disorganized on the ship." Keith thought back to the engine room, "How were they able to get back up so quickly?"

"I don't know," Pidge sighed, "My best guess is that they have some sort of connection to Haggar, which means they could have wormholed into there."

"Haggar is still around?" Hunk gulped, "Lance could be ages away now. And Allura can't open up wormholes anymore without the Teleduv."

"That's why we need to start moving now."

"Keith, wait." Shiro put a hand on Keith's shoulder, "I think we should wait for Allura and Coran to report back to us, that way we'll have more firepower when we take on these guys."

"We don't have time for that! Who knows where Lance could be by the time they get back, we don't even know if he'll still be alive!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Hunk asked,

"Lance's helmet got cracked when the ship exploded," Pidge packed up her computer, "He was losing oxygen, but I doubt the rebels would have captured him only to let him die after that."

"We're wasting too much time. Pidge, send me the coordinates for the rebel base. I'm going after him." Keith said before running off.

"Copy that." Pidge shouted back, then smiled sheepishly at Shiro's look of disapproval, "I don't think we can stop him when he gets like this."

"I know," Shiro sighed, "Go with him, will you? You too, Hunk. Krolia and I'll stay here and wait for coran and Allura."

* * *

"Do we know Lance is in there for sure?"

"No. For all we know, he could still be on a Galra ship somewhere."

"He _has_ to be here." Keith sounded almost certain.

"So what's our plan of action?" Pidge inquired, "Hunk and I could distract their defenses while you find a way in."

"Sounds good, sounds good," Hunk sighed, "But do we always have to be the distraction?"

"Hunk."

"I mean, we're _always_ the distraction, you know? Also, how do we know if Keith can slip past with the Black lion anyway? It's not fast, like red. If anything, it would just draw in attention."

"That's true, maybe it would be better if I go-"

"I'm going in," Keith snapped irritably, "Stick to the original plan."

"Okay, okay." Hunk said quickly, his voice sounding defensive and high.

Unfortunately, the plan didn't work so well. Black didn't do so well with stealth, and _immediately_ attracted attention. It _was_ the biggest lion after all. However, they were still able to breach the base's defenses and get in. All three of them.

"I hope our lions are okay." Hunk looked apprehensive, "We left them under pretty heavy fire."

"We just need to make sure we get out quickly," Keith said, gripping his base seem somewhat quiet, except for the flashing lights and alarms that indicating the defence breach. However, the base was small, much smaller than any galra base, and so it didn't take too long before they were able to locate Lance. And when they found him, it was not at all how they expected.

"Lance?" Hunk called out. Lance was looking out the window, his back turned to them. He seemed unresponsive, "Lance? Are you-are you okay?"

Lance turned around. His helmet was still cracked, and his wound untreated. Keith frowned.

"Something's wrong."

"Something's wrong alright," Lance smiled, his same obnoxious voice ringing through an unexpectedly evil-looking expression, "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to kill you boys." Then Lance glanced at Pidge, "And girl."

"What are you talking about?" Keith shouted, "What's wrong with you?"

"Me? Nothing's wrong with _me_." Lance pulled up his bayard which formed into a blaster, "What's wrong with _you?"_ Keith pulled up his shield just in time to block the blast.

"Lance! Why are you trying to kill us?" Hunk screamed, popping up his own shield before he was shot. Pidge ran at Lance, using her jetpack to accelerate herself towards him, her bayard out and ready to strike. Lance grinned, and his bayard morphed into an altean broadsword.

"Lance, what-!" Pidge boosted herself over Lance in fear of getting stabbed. Keith charged at him, their blades clashed.

"Lance, we don't want to hurt you!"

"You know, I'm really glad you're here, Keith," he muttered softly.

"Why is that?" Keith asked through gritted teeth, pushing against Lance's sword,

"Because you left me," Lance smiled widely, "And I don't like people who leave me."

"I didn't-" Keith started. Pulling back, only to attack again. He frowned. "What happened to you?"

"You know, I'm going to enjoy killing you. These guys, they're easy. But _you_ ," Lance laughed, "You're a challenge."

And then he got hit by Hunk's blaster, falling lifelessly to the ground.

* * *

His eyes snapped open,

"You think that's enough to kill me?"

"We don't _want_ to kill you," Pidge retorted,

"Oh, you're going to want to."

"Give us our friend back!" Hunk cried,

"You can't fight all three of us."

"No? We'll see how I fare, shall we?"

He fared horribly. Unfortunately, this new Lance had the same skill level as the original Lance. And while that Lance was admittedly very skilled, it wasn't enough to take on three paladins at the same time, especially when they knew exactly how he worked.

They ended up carrying an unconscious Lance down the hallway between Keith and Hunk as Pidge scouted ahead for enemies.

"What do we do if Lance wakes up and tries to kill us?" Hunk asked nervously,

"There's not much he can do without his bayard," Keith held up the red bayard that used to be his own. He remembered when he handed it to Lance for the first time. It was like a passing of a torch. Now he had just snatched it back from Lance's unconscious body. It was weird how things came full circle like that.

But there was a reason he didn't bring the red lion to save Lance and so there was a reason that he wouldn't keep the red bayard also. He took a moment to just stare at Lance's face. His helmet was still cracked, the blood had dried on his forehead, and Keith felt a sickly feeling in his stomach.

 _We don't need two red paladins._

"Idiot." Keith muttered softly.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Shiro was still awaiting Coran and Allura's return. He sighed and patted Yorak, Keith's pet wolf.

"Do you think he knows what he's doing?" Krolia asked as she sharpened her blade,

"He never knows what he's doing." Shiro smiled, "But, I think he's just worried. Pidge and Hunk will take care of him."

Krolia nodded,

"When we were doing our mission for the blades of malmora, we spent a lot of time near a dying star." She paused, almost as if wondering if she should tell Shiro this, "Time slows down there, and we were able to see glimpses of the past…and the future."

Shiro frowned,

"So what you're saying is…"

"I saw Keith's life, in various fragments," Krolia sighed.

"What did you see?"

"Lance." Krolia looked up at Shiro, "He doesn't make it."

* * *

"What do you mean he doesn't make it?"

"We saw him die. And, well, you know Keith. He doesn't think about what he doesn't have to deal with yet." Krolia looked worried, "But now, it seems like we're closing in on the point in time in which that event takes place. And, I'm worried he's going to do something rash."

Shiro frowned. Lance was going to die? And they could do nothing. How was he supposed to break this to the group? Or would they return today, empty-handed?

"I…I don't know what to say." Shiro sat down, "Lance is going to _die?"_

"Yes," Krolia sighed, "I'm sorry."

Shiro looked at her,

"How long has Keith known?"

"For over a year."

"A _year?"_

"He -he didn't think we should tell you, any of you. I agreed. But I-I just want to protect him." Krolia looked at him, "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"I…"

"Forget I said anything," Krolia said quickly.

"Forget you said anything?" Shiro looked at her with disbelief.

"Just…just make sure Keith doesn't do anything you wouldn't do."

"I have no idea what I'm gonna do."

* * *

"Ugggh, I feel horrible." Lance whimpered,

"Lance! You're back!" Hunk cheered, and then stopped, "Wait, are you back? You don't want to kill us?"

"Why would I want to kill you?" Lance asked rubbing his freshly bandaged head, "And why does my head hurt? What happened?"

"You got captured by the Galra and then—" Keith trailed off. What actually happened?

"And then, we think you got brainwashed, or something." Pidge chimed in, "You tried to kill us, but we knocked you out. How much do you remember?"

"I was brainwashed?" Lance noticed his shattered helmet, "Oh god, some things are coming back. I remember being captured. And then there was this woman-"

"Oh, here we go," Pidge sighed,

"No, not like that." Lance frowned, "This one was weird. She didn't look Galra but…she was working with them. She was old and all chained up, and she was the last thing I remember…"

"So, it's not Haggar?" Keith glanced at Pidge.

"No way, otherwise I would have been _way_ more scared." Lance laughed, "Hey, did you guys bring any food?"

"No," Keith shrugged.

"Why?" Lance looked at him with disbelief, "You came all this way and you didn't think to pack any food?"

"We were in a hurry!" Keith snapped, "Ask Hunk why he didn't bring food!"

"Yeah, isn't that supposed to be your thing? I'm disappointed in you, Hunk."

"Sorry Lance."

* * *

"Thanks for coming back for me" Lance said, putting his hand on the back of Keith's seat as they flew through space.

"No problem," Keith smiled a little. It was a rare sight to see Lance like this and Keith was going to cherish it.

"I guess we're even now," Lance sighed, "It's a shame, I was going to hold it over you forever."

Keith rolled his eyes,

"Of course." And then he looked at Lance, "But thanks for saving me back there, even if it was stupid."

"Oh, _you're welcome, Keith."_ Lance rolled his eyes, "Remind me to never save your life again."

"Well, you did try to kill us."

"Ugh, why did I get stuck with you? Hunk, can I ride with you?" Lance paused for an answer and then groaned when he realized he wasn't wearing his helmet, "Right, I forgot he can't hear me."

"Oh yeah, here's your bayard back," Keith handed Lance the red bayard. Lance stared at it. "Aren't you gonna take it?"

"Well…I was thinking, maybe you should keep it."

" _What?"_

"It's just. I don't know. I was thinking maybe, once we got back to earth, I should finally step down from being a paladin."

" _Lance."_ Keith got up from his seat.

"Look, Keith, it doesn't have to be a big deal. It's not like you guys can't form Voltron without me. I just don't think I bring…anything else…to the team."

Hunk's voice cut in,

"Oh, are we stopping? What's going on?"

"Nothing, just go on ahead of us," Keith and Lance stared at each other, "Is this a self-pity thing?" Keith asked callously. Lance scowled,

"No! What are you-no! This is not about that!"

"Then what?"

"Ugh! You're impossible!" Lance threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "So, what, you're allowed to leave, but I'm not?"

"This is not about me! Stop being ridiculous. Just take the bayard, you idiot."

"I don't want to!" Lance screeched. Keith pushed it into his hands,

"Just take it!"

"I won't!" Lance and Keith were so close, they were almost kissing. _Maybe I_ should _kiss him,_ Keith mused. But then Lance started to smile widely,

"He won't, but _I_ will," and before Keith could react, the bayard had been snatched from his hands.

" _Lance!"_ Lance charged at him, and Keith jumped out the way, pulling out his own blade. "Hunk, Pidge, I'm under attack."

"Under attack? From who?"

" _Lance."_

"Evil Lance is back? Oooh no, we'll be there in a few ticks."

"Lance, don't do this!" Keith tried, knowing that reasoning with 'Evil Lance' probably wouldn't work.

"Oh, he can't hear you." Lance smiled, "He's gone to sleep."

Keith swung at him, Lance blocked,

"When did you get this good at close combat?"

"He spent a lot of time in the training deck while you were away. Didn't he tell you?" Lance flashed a toothy grinned, "Something about…working through his _feelings."_

Keith frowned,

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you know? Lance loves _Allura._ Thought he would have told you, seeing as you're such _good friends_ and all…"

Keith swiped at Lance, missing by a few hairs,

"Ohhh, looks like I've gotten you all riled up." Lance smiled widely, "Didn't think you'd be so easy too, Keith."

"Shut _up!"_ Keith tackled Lance to the ground, knocking his head back against the hard metal and knocking him unconscious. He stood up, "Guys, he's knocked out. I don't think he's going to be a problem at least for a little while."

Pidge's voice cut in,

"We need a new solution before he gets serious brain damage."

"Yeah, two knockouts in one day? Not good."

"I know. Let's just try to get back quickly."

* * *

"Ugh, _why_ does this keep happening to me?" Lance said, gaining consciousness for the second time today.

"At least you can eat now," Hunk said, handing him an odd-looking sandwich.

"Thanks, Hunk," Lance sighed gratefully, and immediately pushed the sandwich into his mouth, "I'm so _hungry."_

"How are you feeling, Lance?" Shiro asked softly,

"Head's hurting a bit," Lance said, trying to unstick a piece of break from the top of his mouth, "Other than that I feel fine."

"That's good, Coran put you on some alien pain meds he found at the space mall, since we don't have the teleduv's healing pods anymore. It should sort out your headache, though." Shiro looked increasingly worried, "Get some rest. We'll probably be hitting the road soon."

"Okay, Shiro. You're the boss." Lance reached for another sandwich and Shiro glanced at Keith, motioning to talk elsewhere.

"You mother and I were talking…" Shiro started, "about the dying star, and seeing the future."

"She told you about Lance?" Keith huffed,

"Yeah, but only because she was worried about you."

"Why would she be worried about me? It's Lance who-" Keith lowered his voice, "It's Lance who's going to die."

"She's worried that you're going to do something rash," Shiro scratched his chin, "And I'm sort of worried too."

"Why would that make me do something rash?" Keith asked irritably, "And I'm not a _kid_ , I can take care of myself."

"I know, Keith," Shiro sighed, "But I think you should start understanding your motives before you decide on any plan of action."

"My motives?" Keith asked, to which Shiro replied by turning to look at Lance.

"I know you have feelings for him." Keith turned red,

"Shiro, what are you talking about? I- _I_ don't have feelings for-"

"Maybe you don't." Shiro smiled, and Keith scowled, "Just think about it."

* * *

"Hey Keith," Keith turned around to see Lance was leaning against the doorway like he had just spotted a girl,

"Lance? What are you doing here?"

"Just came to say hello," he lifted an eyebrow and smiled wider, " _hello."_

Keith raised his eyebrows,

"What's going on? What's with your voice? Did you drink weird space mall juice again?"

"No! Wha-That happen _one_ time!" Lance screeched,

"Wait, so wha-what are you _doing?"_ Lance was advancing on Keith, a visible blush rising on his cheeks.

"Have I ever told you that you're-"

" _Lance!_ There you are! _Buddy._ " Hunk grabbed Lance by the collar and dragged him back towards the door, smiling apologetically at Keith, "Lance is on some weird alien pain meds, and his filters have gone _waaay_ down."

"Lance has filters?" Keith scoffed,

"I know, right?" Hunk laughed, "But anyway, the last person he should be around right now is you, so I'm just gonna-"

"Wait, why am I the last person? Shouldn't that be Allura?"

"Nah, it's definitely you." Hunk paused, "wait, should I have told you that?" He looked at Keith for a dobash, "Nah, it's fine. You're plenty oblivious."

"What?! Hunk!"

* * *

"So team, what's our plan of action?"

"Well, I'd prefer it we got my evil alter-ego sorted, so I don't end up accidentally killing anyone," Lance sighed, his pain meds had worn off significantly from the day before.

"Trust me, you couldn't have killed us if you tried," Keith retorted,

"Oh yeah? Want to take it outside, hotshot?" Lance challenged, the pitch of his voice rising with each syllable,

Keith let out short mocking laugh but, before he could continue, he noticed Shiro's raised eyebrows and immediately sat back down.

"Already backing out, I see," Lance smirked, "I knew you couldn't keep up."

"Whatever you say, _Lance."_ Keith crossed his arms.

"Settle down, cadets," Shiro sighed, "Lance, do you remember anything about what happened on that Galra ship?"

Lance told them. About the old woman. About the chains.

"So, it was like magic?" Allura asked confusedly,

"Kind of, but it didn't really look like Altean magic."

"Could you tell what kind of alien she was?" Keith asked,

"No, I've never seen anything like her before."

"We need to find her," Shiro looked at Pidge, "Pidge, do you think you could scan through their data and check if they have any intel on the prisoners they're currently holding?"

"Will do."

There was a moment of silence as Pidge scanned through. Keith looked at Lance. It was weird to think they'd tried to save each other twice in the same day (which happened rather often), and Lance had tried to kill Keith twice in the same day too (which never happened at all). Keith didn't know how he felt about that.

"Okay, so I have found one prisoner. There's no real intel about where they're from or why they've been imprisoned, but there seems to be more security measures on this prisoner than any other. It _has_ to be this one, right?"

"Okay team, suit up. Let's go check this out."

* * *

"Why are you still here?" Lance asked irritably, "Your cramping my me-time."

"No lion," Keith said, "Shiro's piloting black."

"You could've piloted red, you know." Lance said, throwing Keith a weird alien juice box,

"Is this safe?" Keith asked, peering at the unfamiliar text on the box, to which Lance shrugged, "And anyway, I don't even know if red will let me pilot her."

"Red loves you, she'll welcome you back with open arms!" Lance said, sipping the juice and gagging, "ugh, _salty?_ Why are aliens the _worst?"_ He looked at Keith, who was still happily drinking his own juice box, "Of course _you_ like it. Here, you can have the rest of mine."

"Why don't you want to be a paladin anymore?" Keith asked, holding two juice boxes and alternating between each one.

"It's not that I don't want to be a paladin anymore. It's just-" Lance sighed, "I don't know. Don't you ever miss being on earth? I miss my _family_. I haven't seen them in _so long._ "

"I know."

"Do you, though?" Lance looked at him with intense brown eyes, "Your family is all _out here_. Shiro? Your mom? They're right here with you!"

"Lance, I get it," Keith scrunched up his empty juice boxes to which Lance muttered a,

"How?"

"In my last mission with the blades, I-we were stuck near a dying star for _two years."_

"Is that why you came back almost as tall as me?"

"What? No, I'm taller."

"No, you're _not."_

"Shut up, the point is. The point is that I was all alone on Earth, and then suddenly we had this team and we had to be together to form this giant space robot and then suddenly I was out there for two years, never knowing when I would get to come back." There was a long, uncomfortable pause and Lance narrowed his eyes in realization,

"Is that the end?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"Is this your weird Keith way of saying you missed me?"

" _Yes."_

"Aww, I'm touched, Keith." Lance put a hand up to his heart sarcastically, "No, really, I am."

"You're an idiot. Why do I even talk to you?" Keith turned to leave.

"Would you like to talk to me instead?" Keith jumped, and when he turned back, sure enough, Lance had that same evil smile plastered across his face.

 _Oh, quiznak._ Neither had a bayard or a blade, so Keith's immediate thought was to tackle Lance and ground and pound him till he eventually got knocked out. That seemed a little harsh, and way too much brain damage in just two days.

Lance swung at Keith, who dodged and went straight to tackle him. He held down Lance's arms,

" _Lance! Listen to me!"_

"He's not gonna hear you!" Lance started laughing loudly.

"Keith?" Keith looked up,

"Romelle!" He smiled at Lance's evil alter-ego, "Get me some rope!"

* * *

"Why am I tied to a chair?" Lance screeched,

"Evil Lance came back, and we couldn't knock you out _again_ , so we tied you to a chair and let him tire himself out."

"Well, thanks for that, but why does my mouth taste _salty?"_

"Turns out Evil Lance hates those juice boxes too" Keith smiled a little,

"Oh ha _ha_ , you sadistic jerk. Would you just untie me?! I have to _pee_ now, thanks to you."

"Okay, relax." Keith said, cutting the ropes. Lance immediately jumped up and disappeared off to the facilities.

By the time he returned, the team had returned also.

"So? Did you guys find anything?"

"No," Pidge said, "But we did take out half a fleet."

"What happened to the other half?"

"They just, sort of, vanished," Hunk said, "It was kinda spooky."

"They vanished?" Keith narrowed his eyes,

"They must have wormholed out of there," Allura said irritably, "but I don't know how." It was clear she didn't like the disadvantage of not being able to wormhole herself.

"So chain-lady is still on the move?"

"Sorry Lance," Shiro patted him on the shoulder,

"It's okay. Oh yeah, I attacked Keith again." He pointed to the ropes and chair. "What do we do till this stops?"

"I guess, we should probably keep you contained till we have an answer to that." Pidge suggested, "I think I have some handcuffs somewhere."

"Pidge, why do you have handcuffs?" Lance narrowed his eyes,

"The ones Nyma used! I thought they would come in useful! Shut up, Lance! It's not that weird!" Pidge stalked off angrily as Lance laughed loudly after her.

"Okay, well, we'll use those for now," Shiro shrugged, "Nothing else we can do for now."

"This gives me bad memories," Lance said as Pidge returned and cuffed his hands together.

"Are you talking about the time Nyma cuffed you to a tree so she could steal the blue lion?" Pidge teased,

"Shut up, Pidge."

"Yeah, Pidge. Lance already knows he's an idiot," Hunk laughed, "though at the time, it didn't seem that funny."

"Cause you were worried about your _girlfriend?_ "

"Shut up, Lance, Shay's not my girlfriend."

"Could have fooled me," Keith added, happy to join in.

"Ugh, you guys are the _worst."_

"Aw, don't be like that, Hunk!" Lance laughed, "But seriously, how am I supposed to sleep in this?"

"Just…try your best?" Pidge smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Lance, we haven't figured anything else out yet."

"Okay, that's okay. So…what are we gonna do tomorrow?" Lance said nervously, "How long do you think I need to keep these on?"

"We have some idea of where the prisoner could be held," Pidge shrugged, "I guess that's our best option."

"We'll start fresh tomorrow morning," Shiro said, patting Lance encouragingly on the back, "In the meantime, get some rest, team."

* * *

"You out here too, huh?" Keith jumped,

" _Lance."_

"Just Lance, not Evil Lance or anything," he smiled, and then he looked up at the red lion, "Do you want to try pilot her again?"

"I don't think she'll let me."

"Have you tried?"

"I don't want to pilot _your lion,_ Lance," Keith crossed his arms, "why are you up anyway?"

"You try sleeping in handcuffs," Lance lifted his hands to show him, "Plus I forgot to take my jacket off, and it got too hot."

"How do you normally sleep?"

"In the nude." Lance smiled widely.

"What." Keith went completely pale, then turned a dark shade of red, which sent Lance into fits of laughter,

"Nah, I usually just sleep in boxers," Lance explained through laughs. He straightened up, "So, do you want to pilot her?"

" _No-"_

"Not giving you a choice, let's go," he pushed Keith into the lion cockpit.

"Why are we doing this, Lance? I've already decided I'm not piloting red,"

"And I've already decided to leave. What a shame, I guess we can never form Voltron, then."

"Lance! You're so infuriating!"

"Just sit down," Lance said, pushing Keith into the chair, "Now put your hands heeere, oh god Keith why are you making me do this?"

"Why are _you_ making _me_ do this?"

"You know why! Why do you have to be so difficult?" Keith got up from the chair,

"I thought you would have figured it out by now!"

"Figured what out?" Their faces were an inch apart. Keith shut his eyes and let his head drop,

"Look. I know…you want to go back to see your family again, but you have a family here too, and they'll -we'll miss you." He looked up at Lance who was seemingly trying not to laugh, "Lance?"

"No, it's just – No that was beautiful. It's just – how hard was that for you to say?" Lance started to giggle, "Okay, wait, no. No, come back! Keith!"

"You're so annoying! You know, it always seems like you have no filters, but you have the most filters out of all of us! Your filters have filters! What's it take to get a serious answer out of you?" Lance sighed, and leaned against the back of the seat,

"I know. I don't usually like telling anyone this. Especially you," He looked Keith up and down jokingly, "Okay, I'll be serious. It's just, you know everyone on this team's got a thing?"

"I guess?"

"Like, Pidge and Hunk are the tech nerds. Shiro and Allura are the leaders and make all the tough decisions. Coran's the wise old guy that knows everything. And then there's you, and you're the cool hothead that's always doing crazy junk that you barely survive." Keith snorted. "And then... _I'm_ just…"

"The cool ninja sharpshooter?" Keith smiled softly,

"Heh, I can't believe you remember that," Lance smiled, "But yeah, it's just. All I _really_ brought to the team was my bond with the blue lion, but now Allura has that, and I really just don't have any place in the team."

"Lance…" Keith came closer, " _No one_ else thinks that. Everyone can see that you hold this team together,"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better,"

"I'm actually _not._ When Pidge and Hunk and I were coming to save you? I couldn't get us to work together, until I started shouting at them." Lance laughed,

"I can see that." Keith continued,

"And when Shiro was gone, and I had to pilot the black lion, you were the first one that made me feel like I could actually do it."

"I really only did that because I no choice." Lance rubbed his neck bashfully, "If that black lion let me pilot her? That would be a whole other story." Keith ignored him,

"And back there, when your helmet was cracked and all I could think about was how you were gonna _die_ in my arms and I was trying not to make you think about it, and then you ended up turning it around and tried to make _me_ feel better." They were so close now.

"I think I vaguely remember that," Lance whispered, his cheeks burning red.

"You bring more to this team than you know, Lance." Keith muttered softly, "And if you left, we'd fall apart."

"Can I-can I kiss you?" Keith looked taken aback, just a little. As if that was the last thing expected Lance to say. But then, he did the last thing Lance expected him to do: He nodded.

So, Lance lifted his cuffed hands up to Keith's jacket collar, and pulled him closer.

Neither of them knew how to kiss properly, so there was lots of teeth and tongue and everything went everywhere at the same time. Turns out, defending the universe also meant that kissing practice just happened later in life. Their lips were dry and chapped and what was that taste? Salt? They pulled apart, panting just a little.

"Um, how many of those juice boxes did you drink?"

"Four."

"Four?"

"Four more."

"Ugh, I can't believe I like you." Keith smiled,

"I like you, too."

"Aww, what a sweet moment" Evil Lance glowered at Keith, who sighed,

"Oh, I should have expected this,"

"Yeah, you really should have," Lance agreed, and headbutted him.

Everything went black.

* * *

When Keith woke, Lance was still piloting the red lion.

"It must be hard to pilot your lion in handcuffs," Keith announced derisively. Lance whipped his head back to look, only to groan pathetically,

"Ugh! Whiplash!"

"Should have known, even Evil Lance is an idiot," Keith sighed,

"What did you expect? I have the same brain." Lance remarked, "I just have far different motives."

 _Motives._

"You've failed. You have no weapons. You're handcuffed. You can't even pilot red properly."

"Have I failed?" Lance smiled, pointing out the window.

"Oh, no." They were already at a rebel base, different to the one before.

"Oh, _yes._ "

"Turn around, _now."_ Keith said, holding up his blade, Lance put his hands up,

" _Keith!_ You know I can't do that," he pointed out the window again, "They already know I'm here, coming back to them. It's what I was told to do-"

"Told?"

"Yeah, told. Now if I don't do what I'm told like a good little boy? Well, then we get shot."

"Okay, so we have to land."

"Now, you're getting it." Keith ignored him. How was he supposed to do this smartly?

"What were you told to do?"

"I was told to bring the red lion back. And also, to kill as many of you as possible."

"Well, that failed," Keith smirked as Lance, albeit Evil Lance, pouted,

"I didn't get that much chance, you guys had me all figured out! It was poor planning on their part." Keith stared at him. Evil Lance was so much like Lance, even in personality. They had the same laughter, the same eyebrow quirks and the same, quiznak-ing, fake confidence.

"It's kind of sad," Keith let out a breath of laughter, "You tried so hard to kill us, and yet you _failed. So badly."_

"See, I know what you're trying to do, _Keith_ , I'm not an idiot."

"Could've fooled me."

"I know you're trying to ruin my confidence, but that's where _you_ failed. You just spent the last 10 minutes of your consciousness convincing me of my greatness. And then there was that extra little bit on the side… but I'll let you and Lance keep that between yourselves." Lance's smiled widened.

"That's where you're wrong," Keith sneered, "because that confidence boost wasn't meant for you. You said it yourself, there are differences between you and Lance." Lance scowled,

"Motives."

"Exactly. That's one of the best things about Lance. He always tries to do the right thing. Even if it-" Keith paused, with sinking realisation, "kills him."

"What. What just happened? Did you just have an epiphany?"

"Shut up, Lance." Keith snapped, "I mean, Evil Lance. Whatever."

"Evil Lance? What are you talking about, man?" Keith turned back,

" _Lance?_ How'd you come back?"

"I don't know, how long was I out?" Lance rubbed his eyes, "My head doesn't hurt this time. Wait." His eyes widened, "Did we _kiss?"_

"Yeah, but, we have other things to worry about." Keith pointed out the window.

"Of course," Lance sighed, "My mouth tastes so _salty._ Oh, it's all coming back to me. You'd better not drink those juice boxes _ever again,_ Keith. _"_

"I can't promise that, Lance."

"I can't believe you would choose weird, salty, alien juice boxes over me, your friend who pretended to hate you for at least a few years." Keith smiled fondly,

"I can't believe we kissed,"

" _I_ can't believe you're almost as tall as me."

"No, I'm definitely taller,"

"Say whatever you want to make you feel better, Keith, but deep down, you know the truth." Keith rolled his eyes,

"Anyway, I have a plan."

"Really? We're not running in like we usually do?"

"Well, you don't have your bayard. All we have is handcuffs, my blade, and you."

"Me?"

"Specifically, the fact that you look and act exactly like Evil Lance."

"Oh," Lance looked confused, "How do we know I won't turn back into Evil Lance at the first sign of trouble?"

"We don't," Keith admitted, uncuffing Lance, "But we don't have any other choice."

"Okay, so," Lance said slowly, rubbing his wrists, "What's the plan?"

* * *

"I present to you…a paladin of Voltron!" Lance announced dramatically,

"Yeah, whatever, get inside. The old lady's been asking for you."

"Well, _somebody_ can't wait to see me, eh? Eh?" He elbowed the guards playfully, but they weren't amused,

"Hurry up."

"Huh, tough crowd today." Lance muttered bitterly, just loud enough for the guards to hear.

"You know, when I said 'be yourself', I wasn't really expecting you to be _this much_ of yourself," Keith said thoughtfully when they were out of earshot, "Though in hindsight, I guess I really should have expected it."

"Yeah, no one ever tells me to be myself," Lance laughed, "I'm making the most out of this opportunity of a lifetime."

They finally reached a large, dramatic-looking door at the end of the hallway, which slowly slid open.

"You'd think these guys would have better automatic doors." Lance said loudly, "I mean, why are they so _slow?"_

"Ah, Lance. You're back!" The voice came from an old woman who was perched in a corner atop a big purple cushion and neatly strapped in place with 6 heavy-duty chains. "Oh, and you brought a _friend."_

"Oh I wouldn't say _friend_ , more like a sig-ow! _Keith!"_

"Feisty, isn't he?" The old woman smiled,

"Very," Lance agreed, rubbing his side, and scowling at Keith, "Pity I didn't get to _kill_ him, though."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"What?"

"Why didn't you kill him?

"Oh…um, because, well because then you'd have two Voltron paladins! Well, instead of just stopping Voltron from forming, wouldn't you rather have control over _Voltron_ itself?"

"Oh! That _is_ a good idea!"

"Yeah! That's definitely why I did it!" Lance smiled, "So Keith and I could capture _more_ paladins...for you...Sorry, what would you do with them after I brought them to you again?"

"Oh, Lancey-Lance," Lance's smiled twitched, "I would hypnotize them of course! Just like I did with you!"

Keith and Lance glanced momentarily at each other, which turned out to be a bad idea,

"Don't you want your friend to be hypnotized?"

"Oh, of _course_ I do," Lance tried desperately, "But you know, he _doesn't._ We're at a little disagreement here."

"Oh of course, of course, that will all be fixed in no time." She nodded eagerly, "After that, you'll be on the same page _all the time!"_

"Well that's great, just great. Quick question, what's a nice old lady doing here, trapped by the Galra rebels?"

"Trapped? _Trapped?"_ The old lady's eyes flashed, and Lance immediately regretted his words, "You think _I_ was trapped? _I've_ trapped _them._ The fools. They think I work for _them._ "

"So, what's with the chains?" The old lady smiled wickedly,

"The chains are for my own safety. The keep me anchored to my own reality. If I'm killed here, I won't really be killed, unless I'm out of my chains, but that never happens."

"You're from a different reality?"

"Of course! Lancey-Lance, did I not already tell you this? I come from one reality, and yet I've conquered two, and now I will conquer another."

"So, so you do this with your hypnosis?"

"Precisely! And this universe, perhaps a little more complex than the other two of mine, this one had the Galra empire so vulnerable and easily manipulated."

"That's…very nice."

"Isn't it?" The old lady sighed contentedly, "Anyway, bring your friend here, it's time to _change_ him."

"Of course, of course. Come on, Keith." Lance said, pulling Keith closer. Then he reached down and unlocked Keith's cuffs from behind his back, "Unfortunately, we won't be doing that today."

"Why _not?"_

"Because, there's been a change of plan," Keith said as he pulled out his blade, immediately breaking two of the chains as Lance cheered in the background. The old lady shrieked,

"Lancey-Lance? You betrayed me!" she cried as the third chain broke apart,

"Sorry ma'am, but no one likes to be hypnotized," he said as Keith took out another chain, "Maybe in another reality, we'd be pretty good friends, one where you don't hypnotize people." The old lady looked so bewildered. Then she turned her attention to Keith, and that was when things went wrong.

She put her hand on Keith's head, and Keith gasped. Everything went black. All he could hear was Lance calling out to him.

 _Keith? Keith?_

"Lance?" He called out desperately.

When he opened his eyes again, he was holding Lance in his arms. Just like the glimpse into the future. Lance was bleeding in his arms, Keith's own blade of malmora stabbed right into Lance's chest.

"K…Keith…"

"Lance, stop talking, you're losing oxygen" Lance nodded, he looked terrified.

"You did this to him," The old lady hissed, "you _killed_ him,"

 _Losing oxygen?_

"But, why would I say that?" Keith looked up at her, and then down at Lance, who smiled the same dumb smile he did that day with his cracked helmet,

"It's gonna be fine."

 _Keith? Keith! She's messing with you!_

Keith frowned,

"You're using my memories…" Keith realized. He ripped the knife from Lance's lifeless body, making a horrifying squelching noise, and slashed the last two chains.

* * *

"How did you escape?" The old lady screeched,

"You forgot how annoyingly obtrusive Lance is."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Lance. But it's true. You were the first one to open up the blue lion in _ten thousand years_ , because you decided to _knock_." Keith shrugged, feeling very cheesy, "And you even got through to me."

"That's me, people always tell me to go away, but I _don't,"_ Lance smiled smugly, then his face fell, "Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like a good thing at _all! Keith!"_

"I've had enough of this heartfelt nonsense," the old lady yelled, and then lowered her voice, "though I do usually love heartfelt nonsense. But I'm going to have to kill you two. You're both too much trouble. Guards! GUARDS!"

With that, the door knocked open and more and more guards poured in.

"Keith, there's no way…" Keith didn't know what to do. He had the only weapon between the two of them. He stood defensively in front of Lance, as if that would do anything. But he felt that this was all his fault. If only he hadn't fallen for Evil Lance's tricks back when they were still in the red lion. Now they were both in terrible danger, and they were probably going to die.

But Lance was on a completely different page. He leaned forward, close enough for only Keith to hear,

"Keith, there's no way this base has this many guards. And there's no way we didn't clear that ship before we got to the engine room." _What is Lance is talking about?_

"Oh. _Oh._ " Keith flipped his knife in the air, and swiftly stabbed the old lady in the heart, giving her no time to even dramatize her death. She died it a weird way, as if she imploded in on herself and then disappeared altogether, leaving Keith's blade to drop to the ground. The guards vanished almost instantaneously.

"Well that was very quick, I kind of expected her to have an old-timey villain type death, you know?" Lance put his hand up in the air dramatically, "'How could I have been defeated by two young, extremely handsome paladins? Oh, how I underestimated them!' That's what she should have said."

"How did you realize they were fake?" Keith asked,

"I found it weird that the backup didn't arrive until _after_ the ship exploded, which means that the backup in the engine room must have been –"

"-All in our heads!" Keith gasped, "Lance, you're a _genius."_

"Oh, I try." Lance replied jokingly, and then he beamed, "But you know, you're the last person I thought would say that to me."

"I would kiss you, if we weren't in the middle of a Galra rebel base."

"You could kiss me anyway."

"No, I don't think I will."

"Keith!"

"Come on, Lance, we better get out of here."

" _Keith!"_

* * *

"I mean, really, I did all the work."

"I _stabbed_ her, through the _heart_."

"But only because I _told_ you to, so technically I'm the mastermind and therefore deserve all the credit."

"I was the one who thought of the original plan!"

"But I charmed the old lady! Then again, old lady's do love me."

"Ugh, I don't even want to compete with that."

"Aha! So, you agree I should take all the credit?"

"I can't believe it," Pidge stared at them incredulously, "They're supposed to be dating, but they're acting _exactly the same_ as before _."_

"I know," Shiro sighed, "I thought if they got together, they'd at least be 10% easier to deal with. But they're about 10% harder."

"I think it's nice. Look at them, Keith actually _smiles_ now." Hunk looked surprised, "See! He did it again!"

"Yeah," Shiro smiled, "I didn't think they could actually pull it off."

* * *

"I can't wait till we get the Teleduv back, and then we can use the training deck again." Lance said, his bayard form into a sword.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to stop sparring in the middle of nowhere for once." Keith pulled out his blade and held it out in front of him.

"It's not so bad today though, at least it isn't raining like the last planet we were on." He slashed at Keith, who blocked easily.

"I'm at least 90% it doesn't rain on this planet, Lance." Keith started a frenzy of striking, and Lance parried nervously,

"Whatever, Keith." He panted softly, and then swiped at Keith, "Hey Keith, I…need to talk to you about going home."

"Okay." He stepped back as Lance lunged at him, and whacked away his blade.

"I've decided, I'm gonna stay here with the team."

"Yeah?" Keith smiled, as he slashed at a weapon-less Lance,

"In the end, you were right." Lance retrieved his fallen weapon, "Being here with you guys, it's…kind of a second home?" He blocked Keith's incoming strike, panting a little harder now, "And you know, it actually feels good knowing that we're helping people, and that I'm fighting for my family too."

"That's very mature of you, Lance." Keith said, looking impressed,

"Well, I'm a very mature person," he put his hands up proudly, "Ask anyone."

Keith tackled Lance to the ground,

"Hey Keith, is that your sword or you just happy to see me?" Keith narrowed his eyes apologetically, "It's your sword. Isn't it."

"Well, I _am_ happy to see you."

"Keith, I think I'm bleeding."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, guys! Well done for getting through this horrendous mess that I wrote in one day and read through only once before I submitted! This fic was basically born out of the void that season 6 left in me, and since it's holidays for me I had plenty of time to let it fester and boil until I finally sat down and wrote this out. Look at me, throwing around the "intel" like I actually know what it means. There's bound to be plenty of plot-holes and typos and things that just don't fit into canon very well, but this is the longest thing I've ever written probably, so I'm pretty proud of it. I was going to split it up into chapters, but I was way too lazy. I'm mostly proud that I actually _finished_ which hardly _ever_ happens. I know Keith went out of character a bunch of times, but I really did try my best! **


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